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James O'Neill
James Charles O'Neill (service number: 17354-86704-JO) was a UNSC who fought during the and , as well as afterwards. A skilled and decorated soldier, O'Neill was present for and had a direct impact on several key events in both the Insurrection and Human-Covenant War, despite spending most of the latter in a cryotube. O'Neill was born in Windhoek, Namibia on Earth. He would fight throughout the Insurrection, eventually becoming an ODST. After the outbreak of the Human-Covenant War, he was present aboard the UNSC Calgary at the , where the ship was critically damaged and the crew forced to go into cryosleep and hope for rescue. He and the rest of the surviving crew were eventually recovered in 2550, and O'Neill would go on to fight in several major battles, including the battles of , and . He continued to serve in the aftermath of the Covenant War as the commanding officer of Valkyrie Company. After Valkyrie Company took heavy casualties during an operation on Pharos II in 2555, the company was reorganised and O'Neill was placed as a leading officer in the newly formed Task Force Everest, which was tasked with operations in the and the Colonial Frontier. Biography 'Early Life' James O'Neill was born alongside his twin brother, Edmond, in Windhoek, Namibia on Earth on July 7, 2501. 'Insurrection' Both James and Edmond would graduate from the Luna OCS as 2nd Lieutenants in the Marine Corps in 2519. James was placed in command of a platoon in the newly formed and deployed to the as part of . 'Capture and Escape' During a patrol on in March of 2520, his unit was ambushed by the . He and a few of his men were able to retreat into the surrounding brush, where they managed to evade the Insurrectionists for over a week. Eventually, they were discovered by a URF patrol and forced into a brief firefight, where O'Neill and one other surviving Marine were captured after running out of ammunition. They were separated and O'Neill was sent to a makeshift URF prison in an abandoned factory on . Here, he was briefly tortured before being tossed in a cell alongside two other inmates, Helvetian mercenary Maximilian Zwyer, who was hired by the UNSC and captured while on deep reconnaissance, and Alan Layton, a former member of the URF that was imprisoned after attempting to help organise a coup against the URF's leadership, which he viewed as corrupt and violent. He was stuck in the prison for two and a half months. During this time, he, Zwyer, and Layton began to help organise a mass prison break. On June 8, the breakout occurred. O'Neill, Zwyer, and Layton, were able to escape from their cells after another inmate made his way into the prison control room and opened the cell doors. They met up with some other prisoners, getting their hands on some weapons. Amidst the chaos, they managed to fight their way out of the facility and into the nearby wilderness. The group split up outside, with Layton leading one group one way and O'Neill and Zwyer going another. They were eventually able to reach the edge of the island, stealing a URF watercraft, and speeding away into the sea, later being picked up a UNSC naval vessel. Zwyer would go on to continue working for the UNSC, but O'Neill never heard from Layton again. 'Becoming an ODST' After his rescue and debriefing by the UNSC, O'Neill was given a spot in the UNSC Marine Raiders, which he served in until 2523, when he was recommended for the . He would complete ODST selection in training in January of 2524, being given command of a unit in the . By the beginning of the Human-Covenant War in 2525, he was a decorated and experienced 1st Lieutenant. 'Human-Covenant War' 'Battle of Biko' 'Rescue' 'Siege of Maccabee' O'Neill's first major engagement after being rescued would be at the besieged colony of Maccabee. In a desperate attempt to provide cover for civilian evacuation in the city of Avaran, O'Neill led a force of ODSTs in Operation: BALDRIDGE, a drop directly onboard a Covenant cruiser in the midst of assaulting the city. The ODSTs took severe casualties but were able to secure the cruiser's bridge and begin firing on other Covenant ships in its vicinity. By the time the evacuation was mostly complete, the cruiser was fatally crippled and O'Neill and the remaining ODSTs barely managed to escape. While the colony was glassed, thousands of civilians were saved and all of the ODSTs that participated in the operation, including those killed in action, were awarded Legions of Honour. 'Fall of Reach' O'Neill would later see action again during the , where he, along with the rest of the 7th Battalion, were deployed to the northern area of . With the support of the 47th Regiment of the 124th Infantry Brigade, the battalion was able to neutralise a large Covenant base in the area. Valkyrie Company and Raven Company were then deployed to a nearby island northeast of Viery, where the 2nd Shock Troops Battalion was struggling to defend an ONI compound. After several days of heavy fighting, they were forced to abandon the site, and Valkyrie, Raven, and the remnants of the 2nd Battalion fell back to , where they aided in the futile defence of the city. After the fall of Esztergom on August 21, the remnants of the ODST units managed to evacuate the planet and were sent to Earth. Throughout the battle, O'Neill managed to only receive minor injuries. 'Battle of Earth and the Ark' 'Post-War Career' 'Operation: SANDTRAP' 'Pharos II' 'Created Crisis' 'Personality and Traits' 'Equipment' 'Awards and Decorations' * * * * * Appearances *This Curious Gorge Category:ODST Category:UNSC Category:UNSC Personnel Category:UNSC Marine Corps Personnel Category:Valkyrie Company Category:7th Shock Troops Battalion Category:Vadumverse Protagonists